The Musings of a Latte Queen: Narratives of Everyday Life

Yesterday, I was an election judge. I woke up at 4am, sleepy, but eager to play a deeper role in the quest for democracy. My polling place was across the other side of my suburb, on the affluent side.  I was not only the only black person working the polls, I was also the youngest.  It proved to be an interesting observation for the long day. The people I worked with, by county commission rules, were equally democrat and republican. The two party system continues to prevail.  The entire group was amenable and enjoyable to spend the many hours processing literally two voters a minute through the procedures to gain access to the thing that makes our country envied and hated - the ballot. It was at the polls, watching diamond ring after expensive watch sign the voter card that I realize something I always knew - one party over another always voted and wanted to make sure their needs were met.  That party, the republicans, prevailed in most of the major national ...

Remembering Today is the 32nd anniversary of the death of my first born son. He was killed by the hands of shame, rejection, and fear that gripped my parents after their perfect teenage daughter shattered their illusion of respectability. The Backdrop I was 16 when I was forced from my home to live with my father's relatives because my step-mother threatened to kill me.  Imagine my crime to cause her 9 years of constant hate and hazing - I look like my deceased mother, the wife of my father who died when I was 4 years old. It was against the backdrop of her rant that I was literally pushed out the front door in Missouri and driven several states away to Michigan to live my life in safety. Naive doesn't even begin to describe it.  I was not allowed to hang out with friends like my 13 year old daughter just did last night with her crew of friends.  We were not from Jefferson City and therefore not part of the inner inner circles.  My family separated us, othe...